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Transgender 6-Year-Old Wins Right to Girls' Bathroom

byJudy DuttonJun 25, 2013

Photograph by DP

One
of the first things little boys and girls learn in life is that they’re
different … down below. The upshot: When nature calls, boys go in the little
boys' room, girls the little girls' room. But which bathroom should a
transgender child visit when the urge to pee strikes?

At
Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, Colorado, this question became a
hot-button topic due to a 6-year-old named Coy Mathis—who was born a boy but
has recently started dressing and acting like a girl with her parent’s support.

The
parents, Kathryn and Jeremy, told the press that Coy
started showing a preference for girly stuff at five months when she nabbed a
pink blanket from her sister. Later on, she shunned boy toys like cars and
refused to leave the house wearing boy clothes, and became depressed, begging
to get “fixed” by a doctor.

Coy
was diagnosed with gender identity disorder, a condition where you identify
with the opposite sex. Coy’s parents decided to support their child’s choice by
letting her live as a girl. She soon began to flourish.

Only
her self-confidence was shaken when her school ruled that she could use the
restrooms in the teacher’s lounge or nurse’s office, but not the girl’s
bathroom. Fearing this decree unfairly stigmatized their daughter, the Mathis family filed a lawsuit against the school, and the Colorado Division of Civil Rights
found probable cause of discrimination. Since then, the Mathises have moved to
Aurora, and Coy is homeschooled.

Schools
in many states (Colorado included) allow transgender students to use the
bathroom of the gender they identify with, and have anti-discrimination laws to
address this issue. For little Coy’s sake, we’re glad to see that they’re
enforced.